Yes, I get ONE! Despite what most people think about those of us who work in ministry, we don’t just hang out all week and preach for an hour on Sunday, there is lots of church work to do. Plus, I have mom duties and daughter duties and wife duties and church duties and me duties and household duties. All in all, I am a typical American Woman! But this week! Yes! It paid off. I haven’t done this ever, but I woke up and checked the temperature for Monterey Bay. It’s usually cold and foggy there but I was hoping to play hooky there on Friday and go for a few hours and get some (maybe) sun and some quiet time with the Lord. I checked the weather and today it was going to be in the 80’s and sunny but the rest of the week it was going to be in the 50’s and cloudy.
SO! My husband was sleeping and I thought but didn’t say out loud, “Please wake up! PLLLLEEEEEAAASSSE!” and VIOLA! his eyes opened and he smiled, because he is a morning person, not because I was so close to his face he could feel my breath! I said, “Let’s get out of here!” He looked wide eyed, like you do when you first wake up and you don’t know where you are, and I said, “C’mon, take me to the beach.” So off we went. By 11 am we were sitting on the beach, bottled water and book in hand and as promised it was a warm day there. We stayed there until 3 pm then rushed home to get the kids fed and to a recital and then I had some cleaning to do. Yep, even though I played, I still had work to do!
I’m happy today for the blessing of a surprise and a break from the norm. I’m happy to be in love with my life and the Lord whom I joyously serve (most days). Yes, there are problems and yes, there are things that are hard in my life but God knows just what I need, when I need it. I looked out at the water and the waves with tears streaming down my face today for the gratitude of a gift for no reason. Profoundly happy for a true day of rest because you just don’t get enough of these (or at least I don’t). Thankful for a world created today just for me because my God loves beauty and he loves to see me happy. Digging my feet into the grains of sand, knowing that the Lord created each one for this moment in time, knowing I would be there in that moment. I sat still and raising my face to the sun with a cloudless sky and a breeze coming in because He knows I like it warm and breezy but not hot, I sang this song by Desperation Band, which I’ve dusted off the cover of and began to listen to again;
The whole earth is full of your glory
The whole earth is full of your glory
And you reign victorious
You reign victorious over all
For great is the Lord and worthy of praise
Lift up your voice and lift up His name
The heavens declare our God is the King
We join in the song that the angels sing
The nations will praise you forever
The nations will praise you forever
For you reign victorious
You reign victorious over all
You have to recognize those beautiful moments and give thanks. They didn’t get here by accident they got here because there is a God, whether you know it yet or not, who loves you and loves to see you smile!
Pastor Susan 
Yeah, I’ll be going camping this weekend for the first time in years…with my son! who just learned how to swim all of a sudden. Of course, he still uses those arm floaty thingies, but still!!
I LOVE CAMPING! That surprises a lot of people because I’m such a girl about hair and makeup and heels and stuff but something about going real camping in a tent is fun. Even when you get a sudden rain storm and you hole up in your sleeping bag and read. Even when you wake up in the middle of the night and you hear sniffing and chomping and you carefully open your tent door, turn on your flashlight and see a bunch of deer eating all around you and realize you’ve invaded their space. Even without a tent in the desert looking up at the beautiful sky! Have fun! Wish it were me!
I have to say there is just something about sitting on the beach that gives you peace, about 4 years ago I had a chance to go to Newport Beach, it was a conference. I work for a community college so even though it was work related it was a chance of a lifetime. We got dressed up to go to our meetings, but the driver(who also works for the college) of the van I was in was wearing shorts and flip flops. I was like hhhmmmm he sure is going to the luncheon and workshops casual, but we are heading away from the motel and down some streets and then I see it, we are at the beach. I felt so excited, I was like “what are we doing here?” He stated I know you have never been here and you can’t miss something so beautiful, there is plenty of time for work but you need to admire Gods blessings. We get out of the van and walk to some rocks and they all hiked up the beach they were wearing beach clothes, I am still dressed for luncheon and meetings, so I sit on the rocks and take off my shoes, roll my pants up and put my feet in the water, there is no one around it’s very peaceful. I look up and the sun is beating on the water what a beautiful sight, before I know it tears are streaming down my face, I am soaking up Gods beauty and thanked him for allowing me to see the awesome beauty and presence of his peace right then. We should all remember to stop and take time to enjoy the beautiful things the Lord has provided for us.